The conclusion that seemed most inevitable and unavoidable was John Doe""s sacrificial suicide on Christmas Eve (a deeply-religious act) but that downbeat ending was rejected by preview audiences.That really scared the s--t out of him."The masked figure speared their left front tire through the fender with the broken metal fence post." The Emperor could only be killed by being stabbed in the heart with the sacred dagger.She claimed: "My mother put a curse on it long ago." She also feared: "If the Emperor reaches Shangri-La and drinks from the Pool of Eternal Life, he will raise his army and no one will be safe.He tossed the toy to the completely-enraptured and delighted Feral Boy who smiled thankfully and exclaimed: "Aah! Ahah! AAh!" - in effect, Max had handed over memories of past good times from an earlier time period.With a production budget of approximately $48 million, he film grossed $197 million (domestic) and $474 million (worldwide), becoming the second highest-grossing (domestic) film of the year.